Anti-trans campaigners are reporting a trans mum to the NSPCC because she breastfed her baby
Trans mum Mika Minio-Paluello pictured breastfeeding her baby and appearing on ITV’s News At Ten programme. (Twitter/ITV/mikaminio)
A trans mother has been reported to the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) by anti-trans campaigners, just because she breastfed her baby.
The Trades Union Congress’ climate and industry policy officer, Mika Minio-Paluello, has been targeted by thousands of anti-trans campaigners, with many raising safeguarding concerns to the NSPCC over the breastfeeding of her baby.
The NSPCC concluded that there is no safeguarding risk.
In a Twitter thread, Minio-Paluello, who said she only breastfed for a few weeks following a cancer relapse, wrote that “love is greater than your hate” in response to “thousands of tweets full of hate, cruelty and attempts at ridicule directed at me this week”.
Minio-Paluello called for anti-trans campaigners to leave queer families alone, adding that trans women can breastfeed and she “used the standard protocol created for adoptive mothers”, which works for trans or cis women.
Information on the NHS website says: “Trans or non-binary people can be supported to feed their babies human milk if that is their goal.”
Further advice states that those who have had top surgery may also be able to express milk, with support being offered widely by the NHS.
Minio-Paluello singled out by Rosie Duffield after ITV interview
The backlash to Minio-Paluello breastfeeding followed her appearance on ITV’s News at Ten programme, which explored the impact of soaring water bills in light of the potential collapse of Thames Water.
Following the show’s airing, Labour MP Rosie Duffield, who is known for expressing “gender-critical” views, tweeted that Minio-Paluello “is not a struggling ‘mother’.”
Responding to a comment under her tweet, Duffield added: “Biological men cannot carry a baby or give birth … therefore this is not a mother.”
In her own Twitter thread, Minio-Paluello concluded: “Obsessing about a trans mum being interviewed on TV about water bills, that’s a classic right-wing distraction tactic, to obscure the real struggle. Don’t do it and don’t fall for it.”
In response to concerns raised, the NSPCC said it’s the choice of parents as to how they feed their child, adding that healthcare professionals and the NHS offer support to all parents feeding their babies.
According to screenshots posted on Twitter, the NSPCC has informed several distressed anti-trans campaigners that there is no safeguarding risk to the child being breastfed.
It is not unusual for non-gestational parents who wish to breastfeed to induce lactation by stimulating breast milk production with hormone therapy.
Lesbian couple Caitlin and Leah have shared images on TikTok, where they take it in turns to breastfeed their son, with the former taking hormones to do so.
